Mitch Au is very close to his family. His own grandmother had Alzheimer's disease, and he watched her suffer for 20 years. His family is most important to him, so when his aunt and uncle needed a break, additional family intervention was needed. Because of this, he moved to help with the care giving and to give his aunt and uncle some respite care when they needed a break. During this time he learned a great deal about caring for the elderly. His aunt had a 24 hour care giver and was able to stay in her own home.

This was when he first learned about how to help your parents find a safe place to live (or grandparents as the case was here).

Mitch and I discussed the differences between having a 24 hour caregiver and having more social interaction through senior living or adult day care facilities. Your parent's own home may be safe, but it might not provide the social interaction that a loved one needs.

Due to the experience with his grandmother, he realized that he really liked the senior care industry. Mitch went into business for himself and opened a couple of board and care homes. Highly regulated, these homes must be certified with an RCFE (residential care facility for the elderly) and licensed.

During the day he had two caregivers and a cook in each facility. There was also “awake” staff 24 hours a day in each business. Both of the homes were in Arizona, and they found out that moving from San Diego to Arizona was too much of a culture shock, so they moved back to San Diego. It's tough to move from perfect weather to anywhere other than San Diego!

He moved back to San Diego for the perfect weather, and normally works with the adult children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or friends of elderly adults who are no longer safe to live at home. He helps you help your parents find a safe place to live. The organization that he works for is called “A Place for Mom” which is a national placement agency that can help your parents find a safe place to live.

Many people call when they are in crisis, but you don't have to wait until they are is a crisis to start speaking with them about their living situation.

One benefit of working with Mitch is that he can help your parents find a home even if they do not live in the same state you live in.

Listen to today's episode to find out more about your options for Senior Living Communities and also Home Care.